24 HOURS TO BREXIT? KNIFE EDGE… Can Boris Pull Off the Impossible?

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Boris Johnson’s frantic fight to win over 30 Tory and Labour rebels with his ‘great’ deal before super Saturday showdown

BORIS Johnson is embarking on a 24-hour charm offensive today to sell his “great new” Brexit deal to Tories and Labour rebels.

The PM faces a frantic race against time ahead of Saturday’s showdown in the Commons, after the DUP vowed to vote down his agreement and begged Tory MPs to stand with them.

The PM will spend the day hammering the phones to MPs in a last-ditch attempt to push his Brexit plans over the line tomorrow.

He needs a handful of ex-Tory MPs, hardline Tories and Labour Leavers to back him in order to seal Brexit’s fate.

It comes as:

  • A fresh plot emerged from Rebel Tories to force Boris Johnson to seek an extension tonight – even if his vote passes
  • Labour Remainers are set to make a decision today on whether to push a plan for a second referendum
  • EU leaders left the door open to a third Brexit extension if the deal gets thrown out
  • DUP MPs started piling on the pressure to Eurosceptic MPs to join them in opposing the deal
  • The Court of Appeal judges chucked out a case against Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Brexit – who argued that his deal was illegal

The PM needs the support of Labour Brexiteers – with 10 ready to enrage Jeremy Corbyn by pushing the deal through, the Huffington Post reports.

The rebels are considering backing Boris if he publishes a bill before Saturday that would offer EU-style protection to workers’ rights.

The PM is rumoured to unveil a bumper workers’ rights package today as he desperately tries to woo Labour’s Leave MPs.

No10 think they need around 15 to switch and back his deal to get it over the line.

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Brexit on a knife edge as PM Johnson stakes all on ‘Super Saturday’ vote

* Johnson seeks to rally doubters behind his deal

* Parliament to vote on Saturday on EU exit deal

* Brexit hangs on a knife edge

* Labour: Johnson will fail

* DUP: We will vote against (Adds cabinet meeting and debate timing detail)

Can Boris Johnson Pull Off the Impossible? We’re Counting the Votes

(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson has managed to strike a new Brexit deal with the European Union. But does he have the numbers to get it past Parliament?

Well short of a majority, he needs to persuade 61 Members of Parliament to back his deal. He looks more than half-way there, based on public comments made by lawmakers in recent days. Here’s our tally of how many have declared for him so far.

Now for the health warning. This analysis is necessarily imprecise: MPs can change their minds. It’s also incomplete: There are some we would expect to back the deal but simply haven’t said so publicly yet.

For Johnson, it looks tight — but not impossible. Here’s how the numbers break down.

Johnson’s Target: 320

Once non-voting MPs are accounted for, Johnson needs 320 MPs on his side to win any vote in the House of Commons.

May’s Baseline: 259

The last time Theresa May tried to get her deal through, in March, she had the support of 279 Conservatives. They are mostly likely to back a Johnson deal too, but there are some problems.

Johnson expelled a group of MPs from the party in September after they backed legislation blocking a no-deal Brexit. They were joined by Amber Rudd, who resigned in sympathy. Also out of the party is Nick Boles, who quit the Conservatives earlier this year in frustration at the Brexit deadlock.

As a result there are question marks against 19 former Tories who previously backed May’s deal. On top of that number, one deal-backing Conservative, Chris Davies, lost his seat to a Liberal Democrat in a recall election.

That leaves Johnson 61 votes short. Where can he go?

‘Gaukeward Squad’: 19

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